Pumpkin French Toast

Serves 4

During those crisp months of Autumn I want pumpkin morning, noon and night. And yeah, the craving may even strike in June! This is a perfect way to use pureed pumpkin and pumpkin’s favorite spices – cinnamon, ginger and cloves.

Tip: These french toast recipes call for stale bread because it’s going to be soaking up custard, but you still want the bread to hold its shape. Fresh bread will get mushy and, worst case scenario, fall apart. A 3 day old loaf should be just fine and 5 days old might be too late (make it into breadcrumbs instead.) If you have only a fresh baguette, you can cut the slices and then put them in a 300 degree oven for about 10 minutes, until they are hardened a bit but not toasted. Then proceed with the recipe.

Mix together all ingredients (except for the bread, obvioulsy). Spread out baguette slices on a rimmed baking pan in a single layer. Pour on pumpkin mixture and flip to coat. Let sit for 20 minutes, then flip over and soak for 10 minutes more.

Preaheat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat (I use cast iron). Spray with cooking oil, or drizzle a little into the pan, and cook about half of the soaked breads at a time for 5 to 7 minutes on one side and about 3 minutes on the other. They should be golden to medium brown and flecked with darker spots. Keep warm on a plate covered with tin foil while you cook the second batch.

If not serving immediately, cover and place in a 200 degree oven for up to an hour. Serve with maple syrup and earth balance, of course.

I love you and your recipes so much, I just bought the Veganomicon and Vegan Brunch and I can’t wait to make more food! My four year old at more of these than the rest of us could get our hands on, it was melt in your mouth delicious!

[…] delicious pumpkin pie, which I love! There are cakes, muffins, stews, soups, pasta dishes, and even this delicious french toast recipe. But first you have to begin with the basics. Everyone knows you can […]

[…] I also have a bunch of my giant squash left, I decided to make this recipe for Pumpkin French Toast from the PPK. This was actually my first time making french toast. I topped them with Maple Sauteed […]

I’ve made these twice now and they have always turned out great! Amazing with cranberry maple sauce – boil 1 cup fresh cranberries with 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup maple syrup for 15 minutes! Here’s a link: http://bit.ly/q7yvS1

just a question from someone who’s still rather new to cooking! what’s the point of pouring the mixture over the bread and letting it sit for half an hour? whenever i’ve made french toast (vegan & non), i’ve just dipped both sides of the bread in the mixture and put it in the pan. is that just a lazier way of making french toast?

Before I went vegan, my favorite go-to when I had guests was to make a baked French toast that sat in it’s batter overnight before baking (add some cinnamon sugar on top for a crunchy topping, etc.) This way everyone’s food was hot at once and it took no prep the morning of. I was wondering if you ever tried that with vegan French toast recipes, if you think that might work with something like this? I’m still so mystified by the role that eggs actually played in my baking, and where they made a difference. This looks so delicious!!

Well you did it, you officially did it! You brought out the “breakfast-for-dinner” monster out in me. I was fighting it for awhile but im in full swing now and i am daydreaming of your carrot cake pancakes! DAMN YOU, but i love you! =)

ooooh I just made this and it was AWESOME 🙂 I love the subtle sweetness and spices. I cooked mine in earth balance for a richer flavor, and of course, drizzled with maple syrup! thanks again Isa for a fantastic recipe.

These look AWESOME. I wish someone would let me make these right now, but we have already eaten dinner. I will be pinning these to do later in the week.

To address kae’s comment below that baguettes are not Vegan, I beg to differ. Might you be referring to brioche? Brioche uses butter and eggs. I make baguettes all the time and I never use eggs. It is an artisan bread recipe that uses just yeast, flour, water and salt in the dough. You use a steam pan in the oven to get that crispy crust. You do not need to do an egg wash.

[…] this recipe for baking, but no one had; the closest hit I found was a query on Isa’s Pumpkin French Toast recipe concerning baking vs. frying. The many recipes I saw for bread pudding (new to me!) proved […]

In response to a poster: a true baguette is flour, water, yeast and salt. Nothing else. It has a shelf life of one day due to lack of preservatives. If the bread you are buying contains eggs, it is not a true French baguette and your bakery is cheating to get a longer shelf life. I worked for a very prestigious French bakery in Ft. Lauderdale, and the mere suggestion of eggs would have you thrown out the door. It’s just not authentic, and therefore, not a baguette.

As always, thank you for the wonderful recipes. I enjoy them immensely.

[…] failed epically before, due to the silliness of using thick rye bread. This time round, I used Post Punk Kitchen’s Pumpkin French Toast recipe (cut it in half, yeesh) and made do with man-thing’s fluffy wholewheat sliced bread, which I […]

[…] week I now feel it is socially acceptable to start making all things pumpkin. I stumbled across this recipe a while back and was hesitant as to how it would turn out. I am glad I did, this interesting […]

Any left over from breakfast??? (What a qeustion!!) But by a miracle – cut into small squares and serve with ‘cream or icecream’ or the new vegan jogurt later in the day. Delish!! Thank you for sharing and this magnificent site. It makes you want to cook and cook with a smile. Happy holidays to everyone. (I also trick my family and friends with these recipes and they just can’t believe it). That’s how we win them over. 🙂 love Sarah-Jane.

I loooooove this recipe and the pumpkin. Cooking has still been boring but I am making the best of it. I will either be making lunch or dinner recipes in the future — I can’t decide! But I need to make a choice soon because I will be eating it tomorrow. 🙂 Maybe i will make the pumpkin french toast for my friend when I visit her — she likes squash and fall sort of recipes. I was hoping she might get to do some traveling, but since she is staying for her studies I will get the chance to see her more.

[…] help your baked goods rise. Soy or almond milk: These dairy-free beverages can be used to make vegan French toast. Use about a cup or so to replace the whisked eggs. Tofu: If you’re trying to re-create […]

[…] help your baked goods rise. Soy or almond milk: These dairy-free beverages can be used to make vegan French toast. Use about a cup or so to replace the whisked eggs. Tofu: If you’re trying to re-create […]

Why is stale bread the method of choice? I know that french toast was started by people trying to use their stale bread but I wanted to know if and how it affects the taste. Does it make it less soggy because the bread is dry?